Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun will be suspended without pay for the remainder of the season / Benny Sieu, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Hoehn and Erik Brady, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Hoehn and Erik Brady, USA TODAY Sports

MILWAUKEE - They say it's not the crime, it's the cover up, and that's just how Milwaukee Brewers fan Phil Kuehl feels about the abrupt suspension of Ryan Braun.

"I'm very disappointed in it, the lies from the beginning," Kuehl said at Miller Park before Monday's game against the San Diego Padres. "That's probably the biggest thing. It's the cover up. He should have manned up from the beginning."

Jeff Tiedke, of Oak Creek, Wis., took his 14-year-old sister Jessi to the game and used the night as a teachable moment.

"We've certainly been talking about it," Tiedke said. "I think, overall, it's just disappointment. As I was telling Jessi, I think it would be a lot different had Braun just come out and admitted this out of the gate. Then there'd be room for forgiveness."

Even so, Kuehl, of Eagle, Wis., could already see forgiveness on the horizon - say, by next spring's season opener. "It'll be a mix," he said. "I think we're fairly forgiving here in Milwaukee."

Kerry Zdrojewski, who came to the game with her husband Dan and five kids under the age of 11, said: "We told them how he wasn't going to get to play because he wasn't following the rules. And if you don't follow the rules, you don't get to play."

Scoutmaster Eric Slifer of Franklin, Wis., came with three Cub Scouts from Pack 599 who served as the color guard.

"I have not, as a Scoutmaster, talked to these boys, most of them are too young to understand too much about it," Slifer said. "But it's certainly against anything we teach."